The invention relates to a lathe comprising a machine frame, a workpiece spindle unit which is arranged on the machine frame and has a workpiece spindle housing and a workpiece spindle which can be rotatingly driven about a workpiece spindle axis in the workpiece spindle housing, a supporting unit which is arranged on the machine frame and in which a workpiece receptacle, which is rotatable about the workpiece spindle axis, can be supported on the machine frame radially to the workpiece spindle axis.
Lathes of this type are known as so-called longitudinal turning lathes, with which the workpiece receptacle is comprised by a guide bushing for longitudinal turning which, for its part, is held on the supporting unit and, therefore, is itself supported directly on the machine frame, wherein such a stationary guide bushing for longitudinal turning serves the purpose of guiding the workpiece, in particular a bar of stock, radially to the workpiece spindle axis in a stable manner as close as possible to a spot to be machined. With such a longitudinal turning lathe, the workpiece spindle, for its part, serves the purpose only of displacing the workpiece, in particular the bar of stock, in a Z direction relative to the guide bushing for longitudinal turning and of driving it rotatingly for the rotary machining.
Only a limited number of workpieces can be machined inexpensively and advantageously with such a longitudinal turning lathe.
The object underlying the invention is, therefore, to improve such a lathe in such a manner that rotary machining operations other than longitudinal turning are possible in a simple manner.